Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.250-0.300 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.110. The company issued revenue guidance of $820.0 million-$830.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $799.5 million. Acadia Healthcare also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.300-1.550 EPS.

Acadia Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACHC traded up $1.29 on Thursday, reaching $22.13. 2,088,331 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,923,403. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $14.48 and its 200-day moving average is $18.52. Acadia Healthcare has a fifty-two week low of $11.43 and a fifty-two week high of $42.85.

Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.04. Acadia Healthcare had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 3.29%.The business had revenue of $821.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $800.10 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Acadia Healthcare’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Acadia Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.300-1.550 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.250-0.300 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Acadia Healthcare will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ACHC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $33.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Acadia Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $17.00 price objective on Acadia Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Acadia Healthcare from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.69.

Key Headlines Impacting Acadia Healthcare

Here are the key news stories impacting Acadia Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and volume growth: Acadia reported Q4 revenue of $821.5M, up 6.1% year/year driven by rising admissions and patient days — the topline beat helped spark the rally. Business Wire: Q4 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 guidance well above consensus: Management set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $0.25–$0.30 versus the prior consensus ~$0.11, signaling stronger near?term profitability expectations. Press Release / Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and price?target increases: Royal Bank of Canada bumped its PT to $28 and an Outperform rating; TD Cowen reiterated Buy and raised its PT to $24 — these checks gave investors more confidence. Benzinga: RBC PT Raise TipRanks: TD Cowen Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / disclosure: The Q4 earnings call transcript and company materials provide more detail on same?facility growth and capacity plans for investors digging into execution and margins. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 EPS guide below Wall Street: Management set FY 2026 EPS at $1.30–$1.55 versus the ~$1.75 consensus, which tempers the longer?term earnings outlook despite revenue guidance roughly in line. Press Release / FY Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Profit collapse year/year: EPS was $0.07 and beat expectations by a small amount, but net income fell sharply (reports noted an ~89% decline YoY), highlighting margin pressure and non?recurring items. Zacks: Earnings Details
• Negative Sentiment: Large short interest increases: Reports show a sizable rise in short interest (about 32.45M shares, ~35.9% of float, ~7.3 days to cover), which raises the risk of added volatility and downward pressure if sentiment shifts.

Institutional Trading of Acadia Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 727,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,328,000 after acquiring an additional 269,140 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Acadia Healthcare by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,774,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,077,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,760 shares during the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of Acadia Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $821,000. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $5,880,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Acadia Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $1,182,000.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc (NASDAQ: ACHC) is a publicly traded provider of behavioral healthcare services headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. Founded in 2005, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish itself as a leading specialist in mental health and addiction treatment across the United States.

Acadia operates a diversified network of inpatient psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, outpatient clinics and intensive outpatient programs.